Coupler release mechanism



June 14, 1932.

w. KELSO 1,862,791

COUPLER RELEASE MECHANISM Filed July 12, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l .June 14, 1932.

w. KELSO 1,862,791

COUPLER RELEASE MECHANISM Filed July 12, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 14;, 1932 mean NT P WILLIAM KELSO, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE MCCONXVAY s.

TORLEY COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A COBJPORATION F PENN- SYLVANIA Application filed July 12,

My invention relates to release mechanism for car couplers and particularly to means for actuating the lock of the car couplerfrom beneath the coupler head, the construction being designed to afford an efiicient lock-to-thelock accessibly located in the leg of the looking pin for preventing the latter from accidentally moving to unlocked position as the result of shocks and jars incident to service. The principal feature of the invention consists in providing the lock of a car coupler with a pivotally mounted lockdown dog which, when the coupler is locked, normally projects under a portion of the coupler head,

' and in combining therewith an upwardly movable lifter bar adapted to have wedging cooperation with the lockdown dog to thereby effect a positive releasing movement of the latter.

A further feature of the invention consists in operatively relating the lifterhar to the coupler lock in such manner that draft and buffing movements of the coupler will not produce movements of the lifter bartending to release the lockd own dog.

Other features of the invention pertaining to advantageous structural forms and combinations of parts will hereinafter appear and be pointed out in the claims.

39 In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view, partly in side elevation and. partly in section, showing the relation of the invention to a car coupler with which it is associated, the parts being in normal locked relation.

Figure 2 is a detailed view, partly in side elevation and partly in section. of a portion of he device shown in Figure 1. the coupler lock being in locked position and the lockdown dog being in the partially retracted position it assumes when the lifter bar is in an intermediate position.

, Figure 3 is a view corresponding to Figure 4 2, but illustrating the relative position of the T parts when the lockdown dog has been actuated so as to permit thelock to execute an unlocking movement.

Figure 4 is a detail front elevational view of the coupling lock, showing the lockdown dog and lifter bar associated therewith.

COUPLER RELEASE MECHANISM 1928. Serial No. 292,296.

Figure 5 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in vertical section, of the portion of the mechanism shown in Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a plan view of the coupler lock.

Figure 7 is a sectional view on the line 7-7, Figure 5.

Figure 8 is a sectional view on the line 88, Figure 5.

Figure 9 is a sectional view on the line 9-9, Figure 5.

Figure 10 is a detail sectional view on the line 10-10, Figure l, the locking pin and the knuckle of the coupler being in plan.

In the drawings, 1 indicates a car coupler having a pivoted knuckle 2 and a gravity actuated. locking pin 3 for normally preventing an uncoupling rotation of the latter. The locking pin is of the vertically sliding type having a depending leg t which projects downwardly through an opening 5 in the lower wall of the coupler head. It is supported in locked position by lugs 6 with which the head is provided. These features of construction are not essential details of the invention.

The lower portion of the depending leg at of the lock is fashioned with a recess 7 opening both forwardly and rearwardly. Pivotally mounted in the upper portion of this re cess, preferably by means of a rivet 8, is a lockdown dog 9 which, under the influence of gravity, rotates to a'position such that its upper end 10 extends under a lockdown shoulder or portion 11 of the coupler head when the locking pin 8 is in locked position.

When the upper forward portion 10 of the lockdown dog extends beneath the shoulder 11 formed by the bottom of the front face of the coupler head (see Figure 1) accidental upward movement of the lock 3 is prevented. To limit the extent of releasing rotation of the dog 9, the latter may be conveniently provided on its rear face above its pivot 8. with a lug or projection 12 which is adapted to contact with the transversely extending wall 13 of the lock leg 4. The upper portion of the dog is wider than its lower portion. This has the efi'ect of increasing the weight of the upper end of the dog and thus enables it to move promptly toward locked position. It

also affords shoulders 14 for cooperating with inwardly projecting ledges 15 011 the depending lock leg to limit forward rotation of the upper end of the dog. The forward face of the upper portion of the dog is preferably bevelled or inclined as at 16, thus obviating, as will be apparent from Figure 10, the neces sity of requiring the locking dog to perform an unduly extended releasing rotation in order to permit it to be fully withdrawn from beneath the lockdown shoulder 11, so that it. may pass upwardly into the opening 5 of the coupler head through which the leg of the lock projects.

The vertically rotatable member or lifter bar 17, by which the dog 9 is actuated and the locking pin 3 is moved to unlocked position, may be associated with any suitable operating mechanism. In the present instance it is shown as combined with the form of uncoupling mechanism disclosed in the Milliken, et al. Patent No. 1,5072%, granted September 2, 1924, the rear end of the lifter bar being slidably supported by an actuating member 18 which is swingingly sustained by means of a bail 19 carried by a hook 20 that is rigidly secured to and extends downwardly from the coupler carrier 21. l/Vhen the uncoupling lever 22 is operated the actuating member 18 swings upwardly and thus causes a forward vertical rotation of the lifter bar 17, as fully described in the patent above mentioned.

The forward end of the lifter bar 17 extends into the recess 7 of the lock leg, being supported by the latter through the instrumentality of a transversely extending bolt 23 which bridges said recess at the lower end of the locking pin leg. At its forward end the vertically rotatable lifter member 17 is formed with a slot 24l through which the bolt 23 passes, the forward end of the member 17 thus being connected to and supported by the lock leg. The slot 24 is of angular form, the sides of its upper portion 25 being vertical and the walls of its lower portion 26 being inclined. As the sides of the upper portion 25 of the slot are vertical they afford a positive bearing for the pin 23 enabling the lifter bar 17 to be moved with the coupler, thus obviating any tendency of the coupler movement to raise the lifter bar and impair the efficiency or performance of the lock-to-thelock function by the dog 9. The lower inclined portion 26 of the slot 24 causes the forward end of the lifter bar 17 to move upwardly and to the rear after it has executed a preliminary vertical movement, thus causing the forward upper surface 27 of the rotatable bar 17 to have wedging action against the cam shaped lower surface 28 of the lockdown dog 9 and thereby insuring a positive movement of the dog to lock releasing position.

To afford clearance permitting the lock-tothe-lock and release mechanism to be employed with a coupler of the pivoted head type, the walls of the upper portions of the slot 24 are rounded and the inner surfaces of the lower portion of the lock leg 1 are bevelled as indicated at 29. If desired the lock leg t may be provided with a lug 80 for engaging the head of the bolt 23 to prevent rotation of the latter.

VV'hen, through the proper operation of the uncoupling lever 22, the lifter bar 17 caused to execute a coupler unlocking operation, its forward end first moves vertically until the bolt 23 has reached the inclined portion of the slot 24. This initial movement of the lifter bar causes the upper end of the dog 9 to move from the normal or locked position shown in Figure 1 to the partially retr cted or intermediate position shown in Figure 2. Owing to the inclined form of the lower portion of the slot 24, the further unlocking movement of the forward end of" the lifter bar 17 is in an upward and rearward direction, thus causing the upper surface 27 of the bar to wedge against the lower arm of the dog and thereby positively rotate the latter to a position such that its upper end is wholly withdrawn from beneath the lockdown shoulder 11. After the dog has been entirely withdrawn from beneath the loekdown shoulder the continued unlocking movement of the lifter bar causes the coupler lock 3 to move to lockset position or to execute the extended unlocking movement required to operate the knuckle opener with which couplers of this type are customarily provided.

I claim:

1. In mechanism of the character indicated, the combination with a car coupler having a rotatable knuckle and a lock for the latter provided with a depending leg projecting downwardly through the bottom wall. of the coupler head, of means movably mounted on the leg for cooperating with a portion of the coupler head to prevent said lock from accidentally assuming unlocked position, and a vertically movable lifter bar extending longitudinally of the coupler for actuating said means to permit the lock to move to unlocked position, said lifter bar and lock having a pin and slot connection enabling the lifter bar to actuate said means and thereafter to move the lock to unlocked position and also serving to cause draft and head to thereby prevent said look from acci dentally moving to unlocked position, and a rotatable lifter bar for actuating said dog to cause it to assume a position permitting the lock to execute an unlocking movement and for thereafter actuating the lock, said lifter bar extending longitudinally of the coupler and being adapted to have wedging cooperation with said dog to rotate the latter to a position permitting the lock to perform an unlocking movement, the forward end of said bar being upwardly and rearwardly movable during said wedging cooperation with said dog.

3. In mechanism of the character indicated, the combination with a car coupler having a rotatable knuckle and a look therefor provided with a depending recessed leg projecting downwardly through the bottom wall of the coupler head, of a pivoted dog positioned in the recess of said leg, said dog being pivoted substantially midway between its ends and the upper end of said dog being adapted to project from said recess so as to extend under a portion of the coupler head, and a rotatable lifter bar extending longitudinally of the coupler for actuating said dog to cause it to assume a position permitting the lock to move to unlocked position and for thereafter actuating said lock, said lifter bar extending at its forward end into the recess of said lock leg beneath said dog and having a pin and slot connection with said leg.

4. In mechanism of the character indicated, the combination with a car coupler having a rotatable knuckle and a look therefor provided with a depending leg projecting downwardly through the bottom wall of the coupler head, said leg being formed with a recess, of a dog disposed within said recess and pivotally connected to said leg, said dog being adapted to cooperate with a portion of the coupler head to prevent the lock from accidentally assuming unlocked position, and a rotatable lifter bar for actuating said dog to cause the latter to assume a position permitting the lock to execute an unlocking movement and for thereafter actuating said lock, said lifter bar being movably connected to said lock leg and extending into the recess thereof below said dog, and the walls of said recess adjacent the lifter bar being bevelled.

5. In mechanism of the character indicated, the combination with a car coupler having a rotatable knuckle and a lock for the latter provided with a depending leg projecting downwardly through the bottom wall. of the coupler head, of a dog pivotally mounted between its ends on the leg of said lock and adapted to cooperate with a portion of the coupler head to prevent said lock from accidentally moving to unlocked position, and a rotatable lifter bar extending longitudinally of the coupler and adapted to actuate said dog to cause it to assume a position permitting the lock to execute an unlocking movement, said lifter bar being operatively connected to the lock and constituting means for applying force to the lock independently of said dog to move the lock to unlocked position and being spaced from said dog when said dog and lifter are in normal locked position and being movable with respect to the look so as to permit it to actuate the said dog be fore causing the lock to move to unlocked position and being adapted to move with the coupler in draft and buffing movements of the latter.

6. In mechanism of the character indicated, the combination with a car coupler having a rotatable knuckle and a lock therefor pro vided with a depending leg projecting downwardly through the bottom wall of the coupler head, of means mounted on said leg for cooperating with a portion of the coupler head to prevent said lock from accidentally assuming unlocked position, and a device movable longitudinally of the coupler with respect to said lock and adapted to actuate said means and thereafter to move said lock to unlocked position, said device and the lock leg having a pin and slot connection movably attaching said device to the lock leg independently of said means, said slot being of angular form for cooperating with said pin to guide said device.

7; In mechanism of the character indicated, the combination with a car coupler having a rotatable knuckle and a lock therefor, of a pivoted dog mounted on. said lock for preventing the latter from accidentally moving to unlocked position, and a lifter bar rotatable vertically on an axis to the rear of said lock for actuating said dog to cause it to assume a position permitting the lock to execute an unlocking movement and for thereafter actuating said lock, said lifter bar being movably connected at its forward end to said lock independently of said dog and extending rearwardly from said lock longitudinally of the coupler, and the forward end of said bar being first movable substantially vertically upward and then upwardly and rearwardly when said bar is operated to unlock the coupler.

8. In mechanism of the character indicated, the combination with a car coupler having a rotatable knuckle and a lock therefor provided with a depending recessed leg projecting downwardly through the bottom wall of the coupler head, of a dog positioned in the recess of said leg and pivoted substantially inidwa between its ends to the leg, said dog being adapted under the influence of gravity to assume a position in which its upper end projects under a portion of the coupler head to prevent said lock from accidentally assuming unlocked position and said dog and lock leg having cooperating means limiting the extent of rotation of said dog in both directions, a rotatable lifter bar extending under and adapted to actuate said dog to cause it to assume a position permitting the lock to eXecute an unlocking movement and for thereafter operating said lock, and means for connecting the lifter bar to the look in dependent- 1y of said dog, the lifter bar extending longitudinally of the coupler and being connected to said lock leg so as to be movable in draft and buffing with the coupler.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

WVILLIAM KELSO. 

